Fitzpatrick completed just 16 of 31 passes for 174 yards and was intercepted in the end zone before giving way to Smith. Fitzpatrick has now thrown an NFL-high 11 interceptions, and his 63.4 passer rating is by far the worst in the league among qualifiers.

With Fitzpatrick struggling so mightily, the Jets’ entire offense remains stuck in the mud. Gang Green is averaging 15.8 points a game, worst in the league and almost 10 points fewer than they did during last year’s 10-6 finish.

“We’ve still got some stages to go before we get to that point,” Bowles added. “But it’s definitely possible.”

Bowles, though, said Smith remains ahead of Petty and Hackenberg on the depth chart and praised Smith’s brief appearance Monday night despite seeing it end in an interception.

“He did show some promise when he was in there,” Bowles said. “He understood the game plan. He did good for the drive he was in there.”

Bowles indicated he would not turn the quarterback job over to Petty or Hackenberg until the Jets were eliminated from playoff contention, which might not be too long at the rate they’re going.

“I’ll cross that bridge when I get to it,” Bowles said of going with either of the two young passers. “Our season’s not lost, so I haven’t gotten to that bridge yet. I’m sure any playing time for any quarterback that gets to play as a youngster is valuable experience.”

The Jets also have been done in by a brutal early schedule in which five of the first six games were against teams that made the playoffs last season. They have lost all five of those games.

“Just because we’re playing playoff teams — I’ve never had an easy NFL schedule because all of the teams are tough,” Bowles said. “When you play quality-caliber teams, which they all are, every mistake you make is going to be glaring and cost you at the end of the ballgame, and our mistakes have been glaring.”